Melody of the heart
by chocogreen
Summary: Teoph Oneshot: After the war Toph goes back to live with her parents and after five years, when Sokka maries, she sees all her old friends back. Including Teo. Written in both POV's!


**Disclaimers: I do NOT own Avatar the last airbender or any of these characters. Mike and Bryan do. This is just fanmade!******

**(A/N: This is my first Teoph story EVER and I've never written from Toph or Teo's POV either, so… I'm sorry about voc/gramm mistakes. English is not my first but third language so don't be too hard on me! + I might changes POV's from time to time.)**

**Oneshot: Melody of the heart******

**Toph:**

The war was finally over. After all these months of fulfilling our quest, training and making friends all over the world we had finally done it. Or at least Aang had finally done it. He had everything his heart could possibly desire. He was our hero, the hero of the people and most of all he was her hero. Katara stood right next to me and the sound of her heart made me realize how much she loved him as she looked up at the avatar. It sounded like a melody created just for him.

I smiled somewhere in my friend's direction and hoped he would see me. Through the vibrations beneath my feet I could feel a lot of people standing around me in front of the fire nation palace and there were only a few I knew. Aang and Zuko were up the stairs, easy to recognize because of their heartbeats that I had become used to the past few months. The rest of the gang was standing right next to me and their heads were in the same direction as mine. Although I could not see I knew what they did, I could sense it.

Footsteps started to make drumming sounds and I knew that everyone would go back to the city or to the palace, depending on where they were going to spend the night. The problem of seeing through vibrations and sounds is that when there is too much sound and moving around you, you get dislocated. I had never shown my weakness to anyone and so I stayed still for a few moments while people pushed me around and I yelled at them. Not because I was mad, just so they would notice me and didn't drag me with them.

Suddenly I felt wood at the back of my legs and I started to lose my balance. Prepared to use my earth bending without hurting anyone I felt two hands grabbing me at my back and a sigh of relief escaped the person's mouth. His hands were too low for anyone I knew and the hands were too large and strong to just be a kid's. It must've been someone that was sitting on the ground but why would they sit down in the middle of a moving crowd?

"I'm sorry Toph. I wasn't really paying attention so I ran into you. You aren't hurt, are you?"

When I heard his voice I almost cursed myself. I listened more careful and I recognized his heartbeat. It was the only way from recognizing people except for their smell of course. But being surrounded by many didn't do my nose any good. There was too much scent to fill the air.

"No, I was just dreaming that's all," I said to the young boy that was still holding me.

"No, you weren't," he said and before I could do anything his hands gripped my waist and he pulled me onto his lap. "Need a lift?"

"Thanks Teo," I murmured.

I felt him shift his weight in the wheelchair and soon we drove through the crowd. No one was really paying attention to us so no one could see the blush on my face. For the first time in my life I had practically admitted a weakness to someone. Why or how he knew I didn't know but it was as if Teo could see what I was thinking. He could see behind my mask.

**A few days later at the Earth Kingdom:**

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Aang asked and I nodded.

"I have to, some way or another. I'm still their child and maybe they'll look at me differently now that we saved the world. They'll see I'm not a helpless child but a powerful bender," I said.

"Alright then. Let Iroh send us a hawk when things aren't going great, alright? We'll come and pick you up immediately," he answered while giving me a hug.

"Don't get too friendly, twinkletoes," I teased him and soon Katara, Sokka and Suki gave me a hug as well.

"I'll miss you," I whispered as I fought against my tears. Toph Bei Fong was not a weak person.

"We'll miss you too," they all answered and soon I felt my family go. As soon as Appa took off in the sky there was no sign left of them. No one else than me.

I almost had to drag myself towards the entrance of our home but when I knocked I could feel my mother approaching. Her heart rate was steady and calm but as soon as she opened the door it went in overdrive. Maybe going home wasn't such a good idea after all.

**Five years later at the Southern Water Tribe:**

"I hate snow," I murmured once I put my feet onto the ground. It wasn't only hard for me to see but it was also ice cold at my bare feet. I couldn't wait until we were at Sokka's house (palace was a better word if I had to believe Aang) so I could finally see better.

"I'm sorry miss," the man who worked at the docks said. "I don't think you will find something else than snow or water around here."

"Great," I grumbled as I forced myself to walk forward.

I had no clue of where Sokka lived but I just followed the other people in front of me. They had all come by boat as I did for the wedding of him and Suki. How it had taken him four years to ask her, nobody knew but we were all glad he did. And I was the happiest of them all. It was a chance to escape from my loving parents who didn't want to let me go at first because they were scared I would get hurt.

"I heard that Sokka's chief now," someone in front of me said. "His father is on retirement or something, taking care of his grandson."

"Whoa!" I shouted and I heard the people in front of me stop. "Sokka has a child?"

"Yes, for a few months now miss. Didn't you know?" the man asked.

I didn't answer and just quickened my pace. There were still people in front of me so it wouldn't be hard to find the right way. I felt their looks when I walked past them almost as if I was a storm blowing through. How could he? How could Sokka have a child and not tell me? I was one of his best friends, wasn't I?

The further I walked, the more sounds I heard and from the conversations around me I picked up that I wasn't far away from the palace. I quickened my pace and heard some commotion in front of me about someone not being able to get up the stairs. Probably an old woman or so but I didn't pay attention to them I just ran towards the stairs, knowing I was close to my so called best friend when I suddenly tripped and fell on something soft and warm instead of something smooth and cold.

"Hey there, would you please watch it?" a voice said and as soon as he spoke I turned around to face him. His voice, his heartbeat was so familiar although his voice had become more manly. But still I recognized him.

"I'm sorry Teo," I murmured as I got back up my feet and tried to smile a little, hoping I was looking at his face to be polite.

"You know me?" the young man asked and I felt myself raising an eyebrow. Of course I knew him, didn't he know me?

"Teo, I'm so sorry! I'll make you a path so you can go up!" I heard someone at the top of the stairs shout and a smile spread across my face. My best friend in the whole wide world stood up there and for a moment I forgot about Sokka being foolish enough not to tell me he was a father.

"Hey there twinkletoes!" I shouted as I waved to the top and I could hear several gasps around me.

My smile disappeared as snow for the sun and I lowered my hand. Was there something wrong with me? Had I stepped into something without noticing? Was there something on my face? Did something happen behind me?

"Toph? Is that you?" I heard the young man next to me whisper and I looked down in his direction.

"Of course it's me, who else would it be?" I shouted and I could hear him gulp while his heart pounded faster. I didn't mean to scare him but before I could apologize to Teo two feet landed next to me and I could smell Aang's scent in the air.

"Toph! It's been years!" he shouted while squeezing me like a sandwich. "I'm so sorry, I didn't recognize you at first. You've changed, a lot! Where is Iroh by the way? We thought he would arrive with you? He sent us the letter that you two were coming."

"He'll be here tomorrow," I assured him. "He had to take care of the shop. He hired an assistant and he needs to tell him what to do and stuff."

"I see," the airbender said as he took my hand and guided me up the stairs. "I would like you to meet someone."

"That sounds nice twinkletoes but aren't you forgetting someone downstairs?" I asked as I turned my head towards Teo.

"Oh that's right. I'm sorry, my head's pretty full at the moment, I tend to forget things. Katara is a bit mad at me since I went penguin sledding today instead of helping out with the wedding but she forgave me."

"She always does," I said and we all laughed as we heard a shriek coming from Teo when he was suddenly lifted in the air on an ice path that lead him towards the entrance of Sokka's castle.

**Teo:**

After a few days I had become used of all these people wanting to help me. Loads of them I didn't know by name but their faces kept popping up here and there in the crowd. I had never realized how much people Sokka had actually met during his travels but by the looks of it were at least a hundred. They all brought family so the Southern Water Tribe was full of laughter, greetings and most of all benders.

The water benders were used to this environment but the ones from the Fire Nation clearly had their doubts about the cold. They lived in a place where it was warm all the time and the sudden cold seemed to get them out of their element, literally. The earth benders didn't seem to be pleased either but they managed.

And me? I liked the South Pole. At least for now. I liked the way the wind played with the snow around here. It wasn't something I could see every day, living at the Northern Air Temple. That's the reason I had sneaked out of my room every night and hobbled around the palace with crutches since I always needed the help of someone else when I was in my wheelchair. I didn't mind that it almost took me half an hour to get outside and stand in the cold night air, just feeling the wind against my skin. Everything looked just beautiful around here at night. The snow, the stars, the ocean.

"You shouldn't walk around on those things, you could wake someone up."

I turned around and saw Toph standing right behind me. Her back was leaning against the ice walls of the building and she looked right at me as if she could actually see.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I asked still a bit stunned at her appearance. She had always been a tomboy when she was little but living with her parents had clearly changed her. It wasn't as if she wore make-up but she wore her long hair down and out of her face. She wore a green, tight dress that was clearly more for fighting than actually looking good. Her hands were protected with yellow gloves and so were her feet. She took the thick blue coat that she had gotten from Katara in her hands and pulled it closer to her body while a shiver ran down her body. My heart skipped a beat like earlier that day but I managed to control it.

"No, I'm just not that good at falling asleep," she said still hugging her coat.

"You should go inside Toph, you look as if you're cold."

She smirked at me and stepped towards me while she stared at the snow in front of her. Of course she couldn't see and I wondered why she even bothered to come outside.

"I don't care about the cold, Teo. I like being outside. It gives me room to think."

"About what?" I blurted out.

She frowned a little and sighed, clearly considering if she should tell me or not.

"It's your parents, right?"

Her head turned towards me and she raised an eyebrow. I knew what she was thinking. She wondered how I could look into her head. I had always been good at reading emotions or picking things up and when someone mentioned her parents earlier today I could hear that she was lying to them when she said everything was fine. There was something in the sound of her voice that seemed wrong but no one noticed it, no one but me.

"They still think I'm a child," she whispered. "They don't realize that I'm a strong woman, that I'm one of the best earthbenders there is. Even if I am blind. There wasn't a time when I would like to be able to see because I can see, in my own strange way. Earthbending has saved my life in so many ways, has made it better. But when my parents are so overprotective and all these people are talking about beautiful things in life I wish I would be able to see for just one day. I don't even know how I look. For all I know I have three eyes and hair in all kinds of colours."

I knew exactly how she felt. Sometimes I wanted to walk, just because people treated me different. I didn't want their help I was perfectly capable of doing things myself even if it took me hours to get somewhere. But there were also good things like flying in the air for hours without no cares at all.  
Toph stood still and didn't say a word. She just stared at the sight in front of her, probably seeing not but darkness.

"Tell me Toph, what do you see?" I asked.

She looked down at me and smiled. "You're the first person who ever asked me what I saw instead of what I felt or heard."

"Then tell me everything. Tell me what you see, what you feel and what you hear."

"I see nothing but a black darkness in front of my eyes. You would probably refer to it as 'as black as the night sky'. I hear every sound around me. Your breath, your heartbeat, the sound of your hair in the wind. I feel the wind against my face and every living being in the palace. When I'm at the Earth kingdom I can feel much more people at the same time but the snow and the ice keep distracting me. Sometimes they send out wrong vibrations because everything is so smooth. That's how I see things around me, through earthbending, through vibrations."

"I can help you how to see, I can tell you how you look," I said and before she could answer I was already beginning to describe her.

"Your hair has the color of the darkness you see. It's black as the night sky. Your skin is like the snow and ice you're walking on. It's pale and white but it has its own beauty. Your eyes are like lime green button mums and you're wearing a warrior outfit that matches them. You are beautiful just the way you are."

She slightly blushed and I was glad she couldn't see me doing the exact same thing.

**Toph:**

Sokka had married a few days ago and Iroh and I were now walking back towards home. We had just arrived at the Earth kingdom and were talking about all the old friends we had seen at the party. He talked a lot about his nephew and I knew he missed him deeply. Sometimes I wondered why he stayed here and didn't go back to the Fire Nation to live with his family but he always told me there were still some things for him to do here.

He hugged me as we parted and I wandered the streets before I finally decided to go home. I already imagined my mother running towards me and giving me kisses at the side of my face just to tell me how happy she was to see me. Although she was overprotective and still acted as if I was a child she did love me. And it was nice to be loved.

Right before I wanted to enter through the door I heard the sound of wheels behind me and I smiled. I already knew who it was, I didn't need his voice this time or even his scent in the air. His heartbeat told me enough and it was rising as if he was excited.

"Toph, wait!" he shouted.

I turned around and waited until he was right in front of me before I raised an eyebrow and looked down at him.

"What are you doing here Teo? Shouldn't you go to the Northern Air Temple?" I asked.

It took him a few seconds to reply which meant he had probably nodded before realizing I couldn't see he was. I didn't mind at all, it made me feel normal when people nodded at me.

"Yes, I have to go but remember that I wanted to help you see? I want to help you feel right now," he said as his hand suddenly took mine and was guiding me a bit to the left towards the hills.

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked as he started to go faster with his wheelchair. I had to run to keep up with him but I didn't mind, my feet like touching the earth beneath it and so did I.

"Up the hill," he said while we kept running and running.

Although he told me he would help me how to feel I already felt some other things. The fact that he was going pretty fast in a wheelchair had startled me at first but now that he was holding my hand I could feel his muscular arms. It was pretty strange actually. He 'ran' with his hands while I 'saw' with my feet.

After a few minutes we arrived at the top of the mountain and he got out of his wheelchair and started to take things from the ground to add them to his wheelchair. He was busy for a few moments but hopped back in and put his crutch at the sides before he pulled me on his laps. Although he wasn't really able to walk I noticed that he was good at the things he did even if they didn't go as fast as when a person who was able to walk did it.

"Now hold on and close your eyes," he whispered in my ear. I could feel goosebumps at the back of my neck and I just nodded as I sat in his lap and suddenly everything went black. Not the black I was used to but the black I had when flying on Appa. My grip on Teo tightened and he laughed a bit.

"Calm down Toph, I'm here, nothing will happen. Remember to close your eyes, I wouldn't want them to hurt by the wind or something. And now just feel, let your mind go blank."

I did as I was told and after a while it felt almost as if I was floating on a cloud. Although there was no earth that gave me the ability to see my surroundings I could feel the wind like I had done years before when flying on Appa. But this was so much different. Back then we did it because we needed to travel farther, to hide from the Fire Nation. I did it with my best friends. But right now it was just me and him and we did it because we both find some peace in it.

**Teo:**

Days had passed since I had last seen her face and I never thought I would see her again. After our little trip through the sky her parents had become mad at me and she at them. I never heard so much screaming as that day and her father literally pushed me out of the door as Toph kept on screaming. The last thing I ever heard her say was 'that was my friend you just pushed out of the door, father!' but she didn't came after me.

The days were getting long and the nights short which gave me less time to think at night and it was probably for the best. I had never fallen in love before and I even hadn't fallen in love when I could still see her face. It just happened, one day when I got up I found myself hopelessly in love with the beautiful, strong minded earthbender. Maybe I was in love before but I never really realized it was, I just thought it was simple attraction.

No one was awake and I sat alone at the balcony just looking at the sky while lying on my back. I would have troubles getting up but it didn't matter.

When I heard footsteps I didn't turn around. Most people that woke up at night never saw me and only went to the bathroom or the kitchen but this time the person walked straight at me and before I could turn my head I heard her voice.

"Tell me Teo. You helped me how to see and feel. When do I know when I've found the right person to fall in love with?" she asked.

"You'll see," I answered as she sat beside me. Her hair was in a French bun and she wore the same dress as she wore the first night at the Southern Water Tribe.

"I won't see, I never will," she whispered.

"You will feel."

"Maybe," she sighed.

"So, why did you come back?" I asked. I didn't expect her to come back or to at least tell me something before she was coming.

"Because I heard," she whispered.

I turned my head and she did the same while a smile spread across her face.

"What did you hear?" I asked. "Something about me?"

"No," she replied. "This morning I woke up and I heard my heartbeat. That's when I decided to come to you. I'm sorry I didn't come earlier. My parents have been very strict and a part of me wanted to go but another was attached to the family that loved me."

"So why did you leave? Is there something wrong with you?" I asked anxious.

"No, not at all. I just realized who I was again, Toph Bei Fong, strong and independent. You helped me reminding that. That's why I needed to see you, I needed to hear."

"Hear what?"

What she was saying didn't make any sense at all but I was curious at what she was about to say. And I had to make sure that this wasn't just a dream.

"Your heartbeat. It makes its own melody you know. That's how I recognize people, everyone has a different melody and after a while the melodies change. When they fall in love. Yours has changed too, and so has mine," she whispered. "You know Teo, I…"

I didn't let her finish her sentence I just took her head in my hands and kissed her. I already knew my heart had beaten for her but to know that hers had beaten for mine as well was something else. I would never leave her or let her leave again. She was mine and I was hers. Forever.

**(A/N: I hope it wasn't too bad… Don't forget to review!)**


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